THE HIDDEN STAR

“It is the themes that Duiker pursued with a relentless scrutiny, sparing neither the reader nor himself, which cement his place in the pantheon of a new generation of South African writers [a] prodigious talent.” – Sam Raditlahlo, Feminist Africa

Eleven-year old Nolitye lives with her mother in a shack in Jo'burg's Phola township. She has only vague memories of her father who disappeared when she was five. She collects pretty stones, and one day stumbles upon a clear purple one, which makes her giggle when she holds it. She and her friends use the stone's magic to help them defeat a school bully, then realise it has other powers. And they must find the other pieces of the stone, which was shattered by an evil spirit, creating havoc in the spirit world, and the human world of South Africa. Only when Nolitye completes the stone will she find out what happened to her father A pacy, intelligent children's novel, the supernatural elements combining with serious issues like racial segregation, bullying and grieving for a lost parent.

THE HIDDEN STAR was published posthumously after Duiker's untimely death in January 2005 by the Umuzi imprint of Penguin Random House South Africa, and subsequently by Cassava Republic in Nigeria and West Africa. 2017 marked its first publication in the UK, North America and the rest of the English-speaking world. K. Sello Duiker has created a sparkling novel that will engross adults and children alike.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Born in Soweto, he died in 2005 at the age of 30. Also author of THIRTEEN CENTS (SA: David Philip; WELexSA: University of Ohio Press^; Italy: Ancora del Mediterraneo^; Norway: Solum 2010; Arabic: GEBO^), and THE QUIET VIOLENCE OF DREAMS (SA: Kwela; France: Vent D'Ailleurs 2014; Holland: De Geus; Germany: Das Wunderhorn^). Winner of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, Africa Region for first novel, 2001.